Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Choreographer Jermaine Browne's New Line Will Take You From the Dance Studio to Dinner

Dance and fashion have long inspired one another. Just look at the number of glossy editorials ballet has inspired, or the number of ballets costumed by designers (see: Valentino for the Vienna State Opera, Rodarte for Black Swan). And for choreographer James Browne, whose credits include the Victoria's Secret fashion show, Louis Vuitton, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Rachel Roy's gorgeous video look book for her spring Rachel Rachel Roy collection, fashion and dance are inextricably intertwined. So creating a high fashion dancewear line was the logical thing to do.
"There's nothing out there really for someone like me who likes fashion and is also looking for dancewear to dance, be comfortable, and look fashionable in, and then run from a rehearsal into a quick meeting," Brown said. "I've always had this idea of trying to find dance clothes that can be worn in the studio or onstage and out to dinner."

Dance and fashion have long inspired one another. Just look at the number of glossy editorials ballet has inspired, or the number of ballets costumed by designers (see: Valentino for the Vienna State Opera, Rodarte for Black Swan). And for choreographer James Browne, whose credits include the Victoria's Secret fashion show, Louis Vuitton, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Rachel Roy's gorgeous video look book for her spring Rachel Rachel Roy collection, fashion and dance are inextricably intertwined. So creating a high fashion dancewear line was the logical thing to do.
"There's nothing out there really for someone like me who likes fashion and is also looking for dancewear to dance, be comfortable, and look fashionable in, and then run from a rehearsal into a quick meeting," Brown said. "I've always had this idea of trying to find dance clothes that can be worn in the studio or onstage and out to dinner."

"There's nothing out there really for someone like me who likes fashion and is also looking for dancewear to dance, be comfortable, and look fashionable in, and then run from a rehearsal into a quick meeting," Brown said. "I've always had this idea of trying to find dance clothes that can be worn in the studio or onstage and out to dinner."

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In collaboration with designer Dominic Louis, Browne has created a 12-piece capsule collection that is comprised of harem pants, unitards, and leggings, in stretch jerseys and French cotton ribs, all of which could easily be translated into everyday wear. The pieces are designed with a unique functionality, keeping a dancer's um, personal needs in mind. Consider Browne's men's unitard: "Usually for men in a leotard, they have to totally unzip and pull it off to go to the bathroom," Browne said. "But this is structured in a way where the bottom is almost like underwear. You don't have to go through that whole reveal when you go to the bathroom." How convenient.

And since Browne has choreographed the last four Victoria's Secret fashion shows, we had to ask: Can the models dance? "Candice, who opened up the show, she's a trained ballerina, actually, she's a really cool dancer," Brown said, laughing. "All the girls, if you see them during the show and the footage behind the scenes, they're always rocking to the beat, doing their thing, so they have pretty good rhythm." He would know!

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When most designers put together a look book they hire a model and photograph that same model styled in their looks for that season. Not Rachel Roy.
Roy has always used real women-not professional models-for her Rachel Rachel Roy look books, but this season, in keeping with the dance trend brought to a head by Black Swan, Roy has hired professional dancers and a choreographer to dance her spring collection for her diffusion line, Rachel Rachel Roy.
"Using dancers for the spring look book was an inspiring and powerful way to showcase young people pushing themselves through art," said Roy. It's no surprise Roy is open to unconventional sources of inspiration in fashion--she's set to launch a line with New York Knick (and Vogue-darling) Amar'e Stoudemire sometime soon.
So a couple weeks ago I stopped by the Jermaine Browne dance studio tucked away in the Garment District to watch the choreography/casting in progress. Nine dancers were selected to model/dance 14 looks from Roy's spring Rachel Rachel Roy collection.

The Victoria's Secret fashion show is set to air November 29 (and is being shot tomorrow) and as we've come to expect, will be an expensive display of wings, supermodels, performances and more.
According to WWD, preparations for the event are a year-long affair. Every detail is thought out from costume inspiration ("global cultures and vintage films to Impressionist painters and looks on the ready-to-wear runways in Paris, Milan and New York"), musical guests (Kanye West, Maroon 5 and Cee Lo Green or Nicki Minaj?), model casting and, of course, designing the costumes themselves. The costumes are handcrafted by artisans under the guidance of the show's lead creators Todd Thomas and Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou.
Click through for what all of this has come down to by the numbers, including the number of these handcrafted costumes, record number of new models, the budget for the show and more:

The annual Victoria's Secret fashion show taped last night, and though you'll have to wait until November 29 to see the Angels walk the runway (as well as Nicki Minaj, Kanye and Jay-Z's live performances!), you can check out every look from the show right now. We've got all the outfits, from Miranda Kerr's $2.5 million bra to Alessandra Ambrosio's ballerina shoes to first-time VS walker Karlie Kloss' disco-ball butt. Click through our gallery to see the spectacle in its entirety. Which look is your favorite?